NEA President to pound pavement with educators and candidates during six-state GOTV blitz

Get-out-the-vote operation of the Association kicks into high gear with less than a week to go

WASHINGTON - October 30, 2014 -

Lily Eskelsen García, President of the National Education Association, embarked today in a six-state blitz to pound the pavement with educators and candidates and kick into high gear the Association’s get-out-the-vote (GOTV) operation with less than a week to go until Election Day. Campaign experts predict that the ground operation will determine the outcome of key races with razor-thin margins.

President Eskelsen García is scheduled to visit Tucson, Ariz.; Denver, Colo.; Detroit, Mich.; Miami, Fla.; Maryland and Pennsylvania, in the days leading up to Election Day. The GOTV blitz begins in Arizona on Thursday, Oct. 30 and concludes in Pennsylvania on Election Day. In between, she is in Colorado on Friday, Michigan on Saturday, Florida on Sunday, and Maryland on Monday.

"This is one of the most critical elections in recent memory," NEA President Lily Eskelsen García. "From Washington to state houses to school boards, there’s too much at stake to sit on the sidelines. That’s why I am joining educators in rolling up our sleeves and pounding the pavement to encourage voters to go to the polls on Nov. 4. Our votes matter, our voices matter. Educating our students is the most important investment we can make in our future. We know that whom we elect to office matters. And we need to elect leaders who will make quality public education for every student a top priority."

In campaign after campaign across the country, education has been driving the political debate and educators have been prominently featured in television ads. In fact, a prominent ad tracking firm recently noted that in governors’ races, education has been featured in 35 percent of the ads. And since Jan. 1st, in all races, 19 percent of spots have run on the issue of education on broadcast TV, compared to only 12 percent in 2010.

"The American public is paying attention to education because for years politicians have been gutting education budgets and balancing states’ budgets on the backs of students and public schools," said President Eskelsen García. "The public is experiencing the funding cuts to public education that have occurred over the years and seeing firsthand the impact of those cuts—larger class sizes, inadequate basic resources such as books, growing student debt burden and increased reliance on high-stakes testing—on students, classrooms and working families."

NEA is in a solid position to unleash the power of its 3 million members—educators are reliable voters, live in every state, every city, every Congressional district, and every precinct, noted Eskelsen García. In fact, in state after state, educators have been knocking on doors, phone-banking and delivering hundreds of thousands of hand-written notes to voters for weeks now. They have sent side-by-side comparison cards about candidates. They have organized block walks during the weekends. They have delivered absentee and early ballots to tens of thousands of eligible voters.

NEA launched a new tool to enable members to encourage others to vote for candidates who support public education. In her blog, www.lilysblackboard.org, President Eskelsen García asks educators and the public to engage others, noting, "Elected officials make decisions about what happens in our schools and classrooms, most often without any real knowledge or understanding of what it takes to help students be successful. That has to change, and it starts with you casting your ballot on Tuesday, Nov. 4th. But we can’t do it alone, and that’s why I need your help. Will you take a moment to ask your friends and neighbors to #Vote4Ed on Tuesday?"

"We need to make sure we elect leaders who will set the right priorities and make the right choices—investing in education and preparing our children for the jobs of the 21st century, putting students and families ahead of ideology and politics. Instead of balancing the budget on the backs of students, we need our elected leaders to focus their efforts on moving our country forward," said Eskelsen García.

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The National Education Association (nea.org) is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 3 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.

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